He had one hell of a physique! Stallone modeled Apollo Creed to have a Ken Norton body- and best of all- the arrogance and persona of the great Muhamed Ali. In fact, Stallone had Ken Norton try out for the role. He realized Ken would be dangerous to be filming fighting scenes with. When Carl Weathers read some of the script, he criticized the quality of writing and said other demeaning things all in Stallones presence. Witnessing this Stallone said that's when he knew Carl Weathers was PERFECT for the role of Apollo Creed.